The skin and/or fur of an animal form a barrier to the environment, this barrier being capable of adapting itself to varying environmental conditions. Besides this, the skin and/or fur play an important physiological role in providing physical protection, assisting in the thermal regulation of the organism and providing a metabolic, sensorial and storage function. The physical barrier function of the skin is mainly exerted by the outermost lipid layer or stratum corneum. The ceramides present in the stratum corneum ensure protective properties towards the environment and form a lipid filter limiting evaporation of moisture from and controlling permeation of external substances into the skin.
Besides this physical barrier function, the skin also exerts a chemical barrier function as its surface is colonised by a wide variety of microorganisms that assist in maintaining a natural equilibrium of the skin. However environmental action and contact of the skin with cleansing or other products may involve distortion of this natural equilibrium, an uncontrollable outgrowth of certain micro-organisms within the skin microflora and the consequential impaired lipid barrier function and dermatologic infections.
It has been found in the recent years that also with animals, in particular furry animals, domestic animals as well as farm animals, the number of cutaneous infections where over-populations of microorganisms intervene is severely increasing. In particular, the occurrence of primitive infections, dermatoses over-infections and parasitoses has been more frequently observed. It is believed that the changing living conditions of the animals, the ensuing occurrence of bacterial and fungal overpopulation and a consequential weakening of the fur, may be possible causes thereof.
In this respect it has for example been observed with animals like cats and dogs that dermatoses and parasitoses induce severe scratching of the animal, which in turn involves alteration of the microbial microflora residing on the fur and skin, inflammatory reactions and keratinisation troubles. The latter are mostly treated through application of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents associated in an emollient. These products however have been found to be inconvenient because of their aggressiveness to the skin and fur and because they do not respect the ecoflora naturally occurring with the animal.
It becomes apparent that malfunctioning of the cutaneous barrier may involve widely varying immunologic reactions with the animal, in particular an augmentation of the microbial and fungal sensitivity, a bacterial proliferation and inflammatory reactions. In particular, with animals like cats and dogs, localised or general keratoseborrheaic phenomena resulting from problems associated with sebum secretion or keratinisation anomalies, constitute a characteristic reaction for furry animals.
The observed increase of the occurrence of primitive infections, dermatoses over-infections and parasitoses thus obviates the need to a composition, suitable for topical application on animal skin and/or fur, the composition being capable of treating these phenomena.